AI
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 3:42:22 PM
People don't want this. The numbers speak for themselves.
Don't be confused with backwards looking data. These systems just hit the shelves, and consumers haven't even had a chance to buy them yet. All Digitimes can report on are the back channels, and supply of parts. They have no crystal ball looking forward through the year to gauge customer sell-through, and if customer sell-through ramps up, then many of the larger companies will bring back production and take advantage of it. Those companies which are slower at ramping to demand will be the losers.
I don't see people lining up to buy the heavily discounted surface 1 pro (ivy bridge) at $499.
No wonder:
- Battery life sucked
- Form factor was unimpressive
- Not everyone goes for a keyboard that feels more like a piece of cardboard
- Microsoft really screwed themselves by positioning Surface (non-Pro) first, and confusing everyone on whether any surface device could actually run legacy Windows software
No wonder these aren't selling.
Perhaps these form factors have benefits in the enterprise where people are locked into windows, but windows 8 seems to be a non-starter there.
Windows 8 is doing just fine in the consumer space. People are getting used to it. After all the initial grumbling, all I hear now is that Windows 8 seems usable, Windows itself is necessary for the apps they run, and Windows 7 is no longer sufficient, given the lack of touch support, etc. And this from many of the same people I know who originally complained and vowed never to use it. LOL, I knew this would probably be the case.
